Finding Freeway
by JJHart4
Summary: When Jonathan and Jennifer find an abandoned puppy by the side of the road, they bring him home hoping to find his owners. But Max doesn't take too kindly to the puppy, so what happens when the Harts decide to adopt him?
1. Chapter 1

Finding Freeway

Jennifer pulled off her silk gloves in the car as they sped along the freeway.  
"Darling, the next time we're asked to attend a conventional dinner, let's ask them to put us next to someone that we know well from the office," she said, folding the gloves up. Jonathan laughed.  
"I'm sorry, darling. I didn't realise that Frank was so talkative," he said, grinning at her.  
"Neither did I! All I did was ask him which department he worked in, and he gives me the full story of his life!" said Jennifer. Jonathan tried not to laugh, seeing her irritated expression, but he couldn't suppress his smile.  
"That's because you're so charming," he said. Jennifer looked at him, and couldn't help smiling back.  
"Well, thank you very much."  
They were silent for a moment; Jennifer glanced out at the dark trees that flashed past them as they sped along the freeway.  
"I had no idea that Deanne was going with Damien," she said after a bit.  
"Oh, I'm sorry- I forgot to mention it. They've been together for a while, now," said Jonathan.  
"Oh. Well, I'm glad that she's found someone. She's a lovely girl…" Suddenly she gasped as something square and brown appeared in the beam of the car's headlights.  
"JONATHAN!" she screamed, and Jonathan stamped on the brakes. The car lurched to a stop, the right wheel just in front of the object.  
"What is that?!" Jonathan exclaimed.  
"I'm not sure. All I know is that we were about to hit it."  
They both got out, and walked around to the front of the car. A cardboard box leaned against the car's right wheel.  
"That was close," said Jonathan. Jennifer nodded.  
"What's a box doing in the…"  
"Shh!" Jennifer interrupted, holding up her hand to stop him. Jonathan stared at her.  
"Darling…"  
"Shh!" she said again. "Did you hear that?"  
"Hear what?..." he began, and then stopped. A high-pitched whining sound was coming from the box.  
"It's coming from the box," said Jennifer, and Jonathan knelt down. Slowly, he opened the slightly damp flaps of the cardboard box, and froze.  
"Darling, have a look at this," he said. Jennifer stepped forward to see and then gasped. A small mutt sat shivering in the box, dirt and mud caked over his grey and white coat.  
"It's a puppy," exclaimed Jennifer, and knelt beside her husband.  
"Hey, it's alright," she said softly, stretching her hand out to it. "Here, puppy. We won't hurt you," she said. Slowly, she reached both hands out and picked the dirty mutt up. It whined, and trembled in her arms as she cradled it.  
"Oh, poor baby. He's shivering," she said to Jonathan. She patted the dog's matted fur, checking all over him for any injuries.  
"I don't think he's hurt," she said.  
"Good. It was very close, though," Jonathan said.  
"Oh, darling, let's take him home, please? He hasn't got a collar, and he'll die out here, otherwise. He was probably dumped out here by someone who didn't want him," said Jennifer.  
"But what if someone does want him? He could just be lost," Jonathan pointed out.  
"In a box?" Jennifer asked.  
"Maybe he climbed into it."  
Jennifer nodded, but looked worried.  
"I'll tell you what," he said, watching her expression. "We'll take him home for the time being, and put an ad out in the paper. If no one comes to claim him, we'll keep him. Alright?"  
Jennifer's brown eyes brightened, and she smiled.  
"You hear that, puppy? We're going to find you a home," she said to the dog. He barked in response. Jennifer looked at Jonathan.  
"I think he likes that idea."  
"Good. It's getting late, darling, and Max will be worrying about us," said Jonathan, and guided her back to the car, opening the door for her.  
"The first thing we'll do when we get home is give that dog a bath," said Jonathan, winding down the window as they sped along the freeway. Jennifer laughed.

H2H


	2. Chapter 2

"Darling…"  
Jennifer rolled over in her sleep.  
"Darling…"  
She frowned slightly. Someone was calling her- it sounded like Jonathan. But Jonathan wasn't in her dream…  
"Darling, wake up." Jonathan leant over his Sleeping Beauty and kissed her cheek. "It's time to get up."  
Jennifer's eyes opened slowly and she found herself staring at Jonathan. She smiled, and he grinned back.  
"It's time to get up," he repeated, and Jennifer kissed him in response.  
"Max is taking the puppy to the vet, now."  
"Oh," said Jennifer, and sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning. From outside, they heard a bark.  
"Speak of the devil," Jonathan said, and went to open the door. Immediately, the puppy trotted in and jumped onto the bed.  
"Good morning," Jennifer said, patting him.  
"It's a good thing we bathed him last night. We don't want mud all over the place," said Jonathan, joining her on the bed again to pat him.  
They both looked up as there was a knock at the door. Max stood there, balancing a breakfast tray.  
"Mr and Mrs H, I'm sorry, but I gotta take the dog now. Here's your breakfast," he added, and Jonathan took it.  
"Thanks, Max," he said, and Jennifer handed him the puppy. He barked.  
"We'll be back soon," Max told him, and left, closing the door behind him. Jonathan turned to Jennifer, pulling her close.  
"So, what shall we do today?" he asked her.  
"Darling, there are lots of things to do!" she exclaimed, surprised that he'd forgotten. "I've got to finish that piece before next week, and there's the shopping we have to do because now Max isn't here…"  
Jonathan kissed her, interrupting her list.  
"We could just forget all that," he murmured against her neck. Jennifer considered, catching on with his train of thought immediately.  
"Well…I suppose my story isn't due till Tuesday. And we don't need to eat until lunchtime," she said.  
"You forgot the most important thing," he said.  
"What's that?"  
"We're alone," he answered and kissed her again, pulling her closer to him.

H2H

The front door opened.  
"Hello?" Max called. Jonathan and Jennifer ran in from the kitchen.  
"Max! How did it go?" Jennifer asked, taking the puppy from him.  
"The puppy doesn't have any micro-chip, so if you can't find the owner, you can keep him," Max answered.  
"Great! Who did you take him to?" Jennifer asked.  
"Just the local vet."  
"Well, I suppose we'd better start putting the flyers up," said Jonathan.  
"You made them already?" Max asked, incredulously.  
"Of course, Max. Come and see them," he said, and led the way into the kitchen. A pile of papers sat on the table. Max picked one up and examined it.  
"This looks pretty good," he said. "Now, what's for lunch?" he asked, turning back to the Harts. They glanced at each other slightly sheepishly.  
"Well, we were a little busy this morning and we, er… misplaced the shopping list," Jonathan explained.  
"Aw, Mr H, I'm hungry," said Max.  
"Well, we are too, Max. Tell you what- we'll go out and put the flyers out while you go shopping, and we'll all have a late lunch," Jennifer said. Max sighed and opened the back door.  
"Okay, Mrs H. Just don't complain to me when you get hunger pains," said Max, and left. Jennifer turned to Jonathan.  
"Oh dear."  
"He'll be fine," Jonathan said, dismissively. "Besides, I'd rather go without lunch than without you."

H2H  
Five days later…

Jennifer sat with the dog, rolling a ball to him as Jonathan watched them from the couch. Max came in.  
"Mr H, here's your drink," he said, and handed Jonathan a mug.  
"Thanks, Max."  
"Mrs H, do you want one?" Max asked Jennifer.  
"Yes please, Max," answered Jennifer, not looking up from the puppy. Max watched her playing with the dog for a moment, then sighed.  
"Coming up," he said, a little coldly, and went back into the kitchen. Jennifer looked up at his tone to see the kitchen door swing shut. She looked over at Jonathan in surprise, and he raised his eyebrows at her.  
"Darling," she said, coming over to sit next to him. "Do you think Max is upset with me because I'm paying so much attention to the puppy?"  
"Yes, I do," he answered.  
Jennifer thought for a moment.  
"Are _you _jealous?" she asked, looking at him worriedly. Jonathan fought a smile at her anxious expression.  
"Is this a serious love affair?" he asked. Jennifer smiled at him, her forehead relaxing.  
"Well, I'm a very old-fashioned girl. I can only handle one love affair at a time," she said, and leant forward to kiss him. "But darling, do you really think Max will be upset if we adopt this puppy? I mean, it's been a week already, and no one's come to collect the dog."  
"No, I think he'll warm up soon enough. Besides," Jonathan said, going over to pick the puppy up. "Max knows how much you love animals. Sooner or later, we probably would've gotten a dog, anyway." He sat down next to Jennifer with the puppy.  
"We need to get a vet, so that we can get him micro-chipped. And we need a collar," she said.  
"But before we get a collar, we have to name him," Jonathan said.  
"Oh, dear. I don't have any ideas. Do you?" Jennifer asked. Jonathan thought for a moment.  
"Hey, I've got one!" he said. "We found him on the freeway. So why don't we call him that?"  
"Freeway?" Jennifer repeated. She looked down at the puppy.  
"What do you think, Freeway?" she asked him. He barked and wagged his tail. The Harts laughed.  
"I think he likes it," said Jonathan.  
"Okay, then. Freeway it is. Max!" Jennifer called. Max pushed open the kitchen door.  
"Yes, Mrs H?"  
"We're adopting the puppy," said Jennifer, holding Freeway up. "No one's come to collect him, and we can't leave him all alone by himself."  
Max came over and sat on the couch, his expression careful.  
"We're naming him Freeway, because we found him on the freeway," Jennifer continued. "And we'll go and get him micro-chipped tomorrow. So, what do you think?"  
Max stared at them, then slowly stood up. Freeway barked.  
"Well… good for you two."  
Jennifer and Jonathan stared at him as he went over to the kitchen door again. Suddenly, he turned around.  
"But I ain't feeding him, bathing him, walking him or doing anything for him! You want a dog, you're getting one- without any help from me!" Max said, and the door swung shut behind him. There was a long pause.  
"Was it something I said?" Jennifer asked, her eyes still on the spot where Max had just disappeared. Jonathan looked at her and put his arm around her shoulders.  
"Don't worry, darling. I'm sure he'll cool off," he reassured her.  
"But I can't have Max hating me forever!" Jennifer said, turning to look at him. "Jonathan, what will I do?"  
"Well, maybe we'll give at a few days. Max is going to have to get used to us having divided attention from now on. But we'll have to make sure we don't ignore him completely, which may be hard with a new addition to the family," Jonathan said.  
Jennifer nodded, but didn't look convinced.  
"Oh darling, don't worry," he said, and pulled her against his chest. "Max will get used to it," Jonathan said, and kissed her forehead.

H2H


	3. Chapter 3

Max stood at the sink, chopping the beans up. He knew Freeway was behind him, but he ignored him, and continued on to the carrots. He glanced up at the clock briefly and swept the chopped carrots into a bowl. Mr and Mrs H would be back soon. As Max carried the roast over to the oven, he heard Freeway's claws clicking on the tiles. Shutting the oven door, Max turned to glare at the puppy.  
"Look, just because Mr and Mrs H aren't here doesn't mean you can follow me around all the time," Max said. "Go play with something."  
Freeway's big brown eyes watched him for a moment, and then he turned and trotted out the kitchen door. With a satisfied smile on his face, Max went back over to the sink and began to clear away the scraps, jumping when Freeway barked loudly from the living room.  
"No barking!" Max yelled at him. There was silence.  
With a sigh of relief, Max went back to the sink and began running the water, when he heard the clack of claws on the tiles again. There was a loud squeaking noise, and he looked down to see Freeway standing on his hind legs, a rubber bone that Mr and Mrs H had given him in his mouth.  
"When I said go play with something, I meant play with it outside, not with me! No chasing things in the house- you might break something, and they'd blame it on me," said Max. When Freeway didn't move, Max grabbed the bone off the puppy and went to throw it out onto the grass. Eagerly, Freeway bounded outside to fetch it, and Max went back inside, hoping he wouldn't come back in.  
Max began to hum as he scrubbed the various pots and pans, feeling free for the moment. He was just finishing the song when he heard a yelp.  
"Be quiet! Didn't I tell you no barking?" Max called. But the yelps continued, growing more and more distressed. Banging the pots down in frustration, Max stomped outside.  
"If you dragged me out here to find your squeaky toy, you're in big…"  
But Max stopped, and his eyes widened as his searching eyes found the puppy splashing around in the pool. Freeway yelped again, and then his head disappeared underwater for a moment.  
Max knew that Mr and Mrs H would be devastated if they lost the dog; quickly, he pulled off his apron and cardigan, and ran down towards the pool. He dove in, the cold water immediately knocking the breath out of him, and pushed off the bottom of the pool. He gasped in a breath as his head broke the surface and looked around for the dog. Freeway was just in front of him, splashing around in a panic. Max swam over and grabbed the puppy, holding him in one hand. Slowly, they began to make their way to the edge of the pool.

H2H

Jonathan stopped the car outside the door and got out. Jennifer made her way over to the trunk, and then paused, her hand resting hesitantly on top of the car.  
"Darling, do you think Max is still angry enough that he won't carry my shopping in for me?" Jennifer asked.  
"Well if he is, that's the longest time Max has ever held a grudge against anyone," said Jonathan. Jennifer nodded, and took his hand as they walked over to the front door.  
Just as Jonathan was about to open the door, they heard a loud splash.  
"Max must be swimming," said Jonathan. Jennifer frowned.  
"But darling, Max never goes swimming," she said.  
"Maybe he felt like going for a dip," said Jonathan.  
"In the middle of winter?"  
Jonathan stared at her for a moment, then pushed open the door and ran into the house, with Jennifer just behind him. They ran over to the kitchen door and shoved it open, barely noticing the smoking oven as they passed through, running out the open back door and down to the pool.  
Max was climbing out of the water, Freeway in his arms, both of them sopping wet and shivering.  
"Max!" Jonathan exclaimed, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around Max and Freeway.  
"What happened?" Jennifer asked, rubbing them vigorously. But Max ignored them both.  
"Mr and Mrs H- the roast! It's burning!" he said, pointing to the kitchen.  
"Max, that doesn't matter…" began Jonathan.  
"What'll we eat for dinner?" Max asked. Jonathan nodded and ran back to the house.  
"Max, please- tell me what happened," Jennifer begged.  
"Freeway jumped into the pool, Mrs H. He doesn't know how to swim, so I had to get him out," Max answered.  
"Oh, Max," said Jennifer, patting Freeway. "Thank you. You saved Freeway's life. And…" Jennifer hesitated. "I'm sorry that I haven't been paying much attention to you lately. It's just that it's been hard with another mouth to feed and look after, with you saying you weren't going to help us…"  
"No Mrs H, I'm sorry. I was just being an old grouch," said Max, firmly. "I _will_ help you look after Freeway- I don't mind him being around so much anymore," said Max. Jennifer smiled and hugged him gratefully.  
"Thanks Max. You know you're a wonder?"  
Max grinned. "No, but hum a few bars and I'll sing it," he said. Jennifer laughed, and they both looked up as Jonathan came over to them.  
"Max, you'll be glad to know I saved the roast," he said.  
"And he saved Freeway's life," Jennifer told him. "The next thing we have to do is get swimming lessons for him."  
"We did wonder why you were swimming in the middle of winter," said Jonathan, patting Max on the back, and they all went up to the house together, arms wrapped around each other in relief.

The End 


End file.
